


Maximum Potency

by PoisonJack



Category: Borderlands (Video Games), Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Add tags as I go, Alpha Jack, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Biting, Drug-Induced Sex, Experimental Drugs, General au, Happy Ending, Implied Mpreg, Impossible refractory periods, Knotting, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Omega Rhys, Omegaverse, Self-Loathing, perspective change, rhys loves him some lust-mad jack tho its all good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-21 04:37:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19995979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoisonJack/pseuds/PoisonJack
Summary: The scar on Jack's face ruined more than just his vanity, and in pursuit of trying to get his omega pregnant, the alpha enlists the help of R&D to try and fix their fertility issues.In classic Jack fashion, he doesn't heed the side-effects or instructions of the experimental drug he takes, sending himself into an intense artificial rut.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This in no way went how I wanted it to, but may it be entertaining anyways!

Rhys was having trouble getting pregnant. And Jack was pretty sure it was his fault.

His last three heats had resulted in nothing. The fertility treatments weren’t doing squat. 

Rhys was getting anxious, worried he’d never be able to give the CEO heirs to control Hyperion after Jack. He was young and healthy, but over six months of trying and the omega started to develop a look in his eyes bordering on guilty shame, and Jack couldn’t have that.

“Something must be wrong with me,” Rhys said as Jack held him on the couch in his penthouse, the lack of results from the latest treatment hanging over them both. “...maybe I can’t _have_ children, Jack.”

“Hey now, don’t think so negative, buttercup,” the alpha said as he nuzzled the back of Rhys’ neck. “We haven’t even been trying _that_ long--”

“We’ve gone three heats already--”

“Yeah, but we’ve been busy with the new gun line distribution, kitten,” Jack reminded. “Just a shitload of stress, baby. You know what that can do.”

“But what if--”

“Nah pumpkin, don’t worry.” Jack pressed a kiss to Rhys’ frowning forehead, giving him a reassuring squeeze. “These things take time. We just need a little R an’ R, you’ll see. It’ll be fine.”

It wasn’t fine, though, and Jack was finally ready to accept that he was the source of the problem.

He paid an overdue visit down to R&D, absentmindedly scratching at the scar that the mask over his face covered. The memory made a swell of fury crest in him which he quickly suppressed, refusing to acknowledge how much his altered-face bothered him.

That Eridian piece of shit that had maimed him had _changed_ him. In more ways than he’d originally considered. It had to have. Rhys was as healthy as the next omega, young and right in his prime. There was no reason his mate shouldn’t be able to get him pregnant.

...Unless of course his mate happened to be a much older, scarred-by-alien-artifacts alpha whose face refused all surgeries, skin-grafts, and cosmetic-procedures to fix the brand there. 

So as much as it shamed Jack to think so, he was fairly positive it was all on _him._

“I’m not a doctor though, sir,” the beta in R&D reminded as he tried to assist with what was made _lucidly_ clear to be a life and death situation-- for the _tech_ , not for Jack’s own health. “And not a _fertility_ doctor, especially. Sir.”

“Yeah, but aren’t you science morons supposed to know about this shit? Alien tech and all that crap? I know we have samples down here.” The beta wasn’t sure if it was rhetorical or not, and Jack just rolled his eyes, then gestured nonchalantly at the crotch of his pants. “Just make my dick work, idiot. I’m overdue for sticking a pup in my mate.”

“Um, sir, i-if the issue is arousal, I can’t actually prescribe any aphrodisiacs but the--”

“...are you freakin’ kidding me…?” Jack growled to himself then glared at the tech. “ _I can get my dick up_! This is the busiest dick on Helios! In the _galaxy_!” the alpha declared maybe a bit louder than he’d intended. “It’s _this_ shit that’s the problem!” Jack indicated his face in the same moment that he realized the idiot in front of him took it to mean his _face_ was what was putting his partner off. 

The alpha made an aggravated noise, so goddamn frustrated that his hands reacted before he even thought out what he was doing. Jack ripped off the mask covering his face, the little latches there protesting against the less-than-gentle movement on the durable, synthetic skin, and the CEO reveled in the look of shock and pallor on the tech in front of him. 

The man’s expression was worth cutting through the bullshit, frankly. The CEO knew there were rumors about what was under his mask out there, but this idiot clearly needed the facts. 

And if Jack later became concerned about revealing as much, well, he could always reassign the tech to weapon’s testing. As a target-dummy. “ _This._ This shit needs to be fixed before I can knock up my mate. I’m sure this is it. Think you got something for that, peabrain?”

“W-well we have an experimental drug we wanted to use on the battlefield,” the beta said, eyes glued on the scar bisecting Jack’s face as he quickly spoke. “F-for major trauma from grenades and… _things_.” The tech’s eyes left their study of the scar only to meet Jack’s own intense look-- awareness of the CEO’s damaged eye making the beta quickly look down- and the tech’s voice shook just a little. “It’s uh… it’s meant to knit flesh back together after major trauma, but on _fresh_ \--”

“Alrighty, well, cool. Go get it and stick it in me,” Jack said as he lackadaisically rolled up a sleeve and then looked at the still-standing tech expectantly. He raised a brow as the beta stood there looking at the CEO’s arm blankly. “Hel-lo?”

The beta made a noise before quickly locating the experimental pills from a locked cabinet, and scurried back to the CEO. “It’s not an injection, sir, but a pill regimen… ah… it’s basically a steroid with healing effects comparable to an anshin but--”

Jack snatched the prototype jar of yellow pills from the scientist, tipping one out into his hand. “This baby will make my boys swim faster, huh?” Jack said as he eyed the pill in between thumb and index finger. It didn’t look like anything special. 

But then again, the deceptively-simple-looking technology in the mask he wore supplemented his poor vision as well as concealed the scar that ruined his face. Big things, small packages, yada yada.

Jack reaffixed the second skin only to level an intense look at the beta.

“Um… the pills were designed to repair currently in-distress flesh. We’ve had issues with piercings healed shut and uh… _willful_ cosmetic procedures to _reverse_ , so to speak--”

“That sounds like exactly what I need! Cool. So just a couple o’ these and bam! Cock is rockin’ again and everything fixed! Ha-ha, not that I need to be _fixed_ , mind you,” the CEO quipped.

“Ah…” the beta was losing his nerve to Jack’s mercurial moods. The fact he was even having this conversation was like something out of a nightmare, and he’d try to block it out as soon as possible. “No sir, it’s one three times a day for a week… But we don’t know what effect alien--”

“Only a week, huh?” That didn’t sound so bad. He could probably pass them off as painkillers or vitamins if Rhys asked. ...Not that he wanted to keep secrets from the younger man, but he was ashamed in ways he didn’t even want to accept himself; that he was keeping the omega from the dream of children. 

“They’re still experimental, sir, but the side effects have been minimal with proper use and--”

“Yeah yeah,” Jack started dismissively, “side effects blah blah. You think these little babies will do the trick? Not like your whole department’s funding _depends_ on it or anything,” Jack mocked, only a _little_ serious.

The beta sputtered a moment in trying to figure out the best response to that, and instead just helplessly repeated how they were still experimental, but Jack was already leaving with the bottle in hand and echoing a request behind himself for the details to be sent to his comm.

Back in the privacy of his office in his big plush chair, Jack eyed the discreet little pill between his fingers, not wanting to hope that some experimental battlefield-steroids could be the answer to his problems, but oh how he _wanted._

Jack took one, but if he was supposed to feel anything immediately, he couldn't tell. 

Peeking beneath the synthetic skin back home after Rhys was asleep yielded similar disappointment. He reminded himself it was for a week, and he needed to be patient. He took the nighttime pill and decided he’d check again the following morning.

Three days and 9 pills later and he placed a call down to R&D, getting the same beta on the line to ask questions and vent frustrations.

“Give it the full week, sir! That’s when it worked by with all skag trials. But--”

“I haven’t seen any changes,” Jack growled out over the comm. “No change. _Nada._ That means _nothing_. Is this what I’m paying you for?”

“It needs to build up in your system first, sir. You’re only about halfway to effective potency...”

Jack snorted at that, but as the words sunk in, he figured it wouldn’t take _that_ much longer to see results. “Full-potency, huh? Why didn't you tell me that before, Rudy?”

“...Randy, sir.”

“Robbie, awesome, thanks. Hope you don’t hear back from me.” Jack hung up on a gasp with a smirk. Not but a few more days and he should start noticing some changes; maybe his scar would completely heal. _Maybe_ he’d even get vision back and not _need_ the synthetic skin anymore.

He tried not to get too ahead of himself, but his anticipation put him in way better spirits as the week slowly dragged on.

—

Jack’s obsession with checking the skin of his face multiple times a day had finally been put to a stop as shit hit the fan from multiple angles, drowning him in a heavy workload at the office that put everything else from his mind.

The worries about Rhys’ private little guilty looks Jack sometimes caught, coupled with fall out from a supply ship being attacked and subsequently lost, and also idiot interns making million-dollar payroll mistakes in accounting had meant that Jack had been so preoccupied with his work that he’d _forgotten_ to take the pills, and more than one dose at that.

He realized the mistake with a little spike of anxiety as his thoughts went immediately to Rhys; he was doing this for _him._ Kept hinting at some sort of surprise at the end of the week that made the omega give him odd looks, but it was better than that sort of self-loathing that started to creep into the younger man’s eyes.

“Oh _fuck._ Dammit… piece of shit, where’s-- Mm.” He’d located the bottle inside the desk drawer-- brain still preoccupied with trying to locate where their shipment had ended up- as he looked at the little yellow pills.

He was almost done with the treatment. He didn't want to prolong this shit over missing doses. Did the amount matter more than being on time with it? That’s how the tech had made it sound. Maximum potency and all that. Right. Build it up in your system, that’s what he’d said.

He shook out one pill, realizing he had two previously-missed doses, and decided, what the hell? He shook out two more, tossing back all three with some slight relief to have kept himself on track, and got back to work for some hours more.

\--

Rhys called the office later that same evening, and sheepishly asked if Jack still wanted to try and make the dinner reservation they’d set two weeks ago… which was for some thirty minutes prior, with a fancy dress code.

“I didn’t want to bug you. I mean, that supply ship was a pretty big deal…” Rhys said, tone a bit beseeching, like he thought he had no right to be complaining about anything in his failure to give the alpha heirs. And considering he assumed he couldn’t give Jack children, the omega didn’t want to press his powerful mate on such a minor thing as having _dinner_ with him. 

Jack frowned as he listened to the younger man’s voice on the comm. That Rhys thought he had to be careful with his alpha made Jack feel like a shit head. “Fuck baby, I didn’t realize how late it was. I’ll be right there, okay?”

“Are you sure? We can always go some other time. I really don’t mind, Jack.”

The alpha highly doubted that. The last time Jack had tried to get out of a dinner reservation to a posh new Helios restaurant, Rhys had withheld blowjobs for a week. That his usually-prissy omega was so quick to voluntarily dismiss his own wants made Jack feel worse; as if Rhys was afraid to lose him for any minor infraction.

...As if anyone or anything could take Rhys from him.

Jack stared at the closed bottle of experimental pills after he’d ended the call with the omega.

It was all _him_. His fault Rhys hadn’t gotten pregnant yet. The most powerful man in the freakin’ universe couldn’t do what any lowlife bandit could, and it was hard for him to admit it.

It would be okay though. Soon it wouldn’t matter, and whatever damage that that scar had caused the rest of his body _should_ heal. And then he’d give Rhys all the pups he ever wanted and spend the rest of their lives reassuring his mate that he was well-loved and not going anywhere. _Ever_.

Jack called Rhys back as he left the office with an idea to make up for the late reservation, and proposed he cook the omega a romantic dinner for two-- if Rhys would let him- followed by some pampering from his favorite alpha. Just the two of them.

Rhys was a lot more enthusiastic about having Jack’s undivided attention than the alpha had assumed, and it lit a fire under Jack’s butt to _really_ show the younger man just how much he cared.

Jack ended up getting home not twenty minutes later, and pressed hasty, hot kisses on Rhys’ face and neck in lieu of proper greeting. The pleased noises Rhys made were soothing to Jack’s sense of guilt, and the happy scent coming off the younger man was enough reassurance that he really did prefer to stay in.

“I missed you,” Rhys sweetly purred into the embrace Jack gave him, and opened his mouth to the greedy kiss he was subjected to.

“I’d keep you in my office all day if the company wouldn’t go down the crapper with how distracted I’d get,” Jack promised with a smirk as he broke from Rhys’ lips, and touched their foreheads together. “Why don’t you start a bath, and I’ll start dinner, baby. Hm? Use that fancy soap I got you.”

“I’d rather you joined me, Jack,” Rhys purred as he pressed against the older man, and the alpha lightly chuffed before pressing a kiss to Rhys’ jaw.

“Mm that’s the plan buttercup,” Jack told him as he pressed another kiss to Rhys’ lips. “It’s been a long day and I’m just a simple alpha that wants his omega naked in his lap.”

“You’re anything but simple, Jack.” Rhys laughed throatily as Jack was all hands about him. “You work way too hard.”

“Heh, and don’t you know it, Rhysie.” The wiggle of his hips against Rhys’ own made the omega snort, and Jack pressed a kiss to his jaw. “How about I give you a massage _and_ a happy ending? How about that?”

Rhys chuckled, but such an idea definitely had its merits. Rhys loved Jack’s hands. “Maybe we should order something in… Knowing how your massages go.”

“Nah, no way. No one’s interrupting our evening together, sugar. I’ve got this.” Jack laughed, thinking of the last time he’d given Rhys a proper massage that had turned into an hours-long fuckfest only to come out the other side starving with only chips to munch on. Hardly a post-sex meal, to be sure.

Good memories overall though.

“We’ll run the gamut, cupcake. Dinner, romantic bath, and the dicking of a lifetime.” Rhys’ snorts turned into light chuckles as Jack grinned and caressed Rhys’ jaw with his thumb. “Pick out a bottle of something nice and get the tub going. I’ll get something easy started.”

“Easy by _your_ definition or _mine_?”

“You little shit,” Jack laughed, pressing a kiss to Rhys’ forehead. “Get in the tub, sweetheart. I’ll meet you there.”

A squeeze of Rhys’ ass later and the younger man broke with a grin to pick out a nice bottle of something sparkling before disappearing with it and two glasses into the bathroom that adjoined their bedroom.

Jack grinned widely to himself, thinking of how nice a night he planned to give the younger man, and went to the cupboards and fridge to try and plan something that wouldn’t require his attention for the time they’d be indulgently soaking. 

He removed a few layers of clothing before cooking, hot under the collar with eagerness to join Rhys. Tacos were easy but messy. Spaghetti held the same issues. Steak maybe? But that seemed almost too simple. He wanted Rhys to be shown how much he cared, and by definition, nothing simple would do. 

The omega himself was happily filling the large tub with the flower-scented bubbles Jack had gotten him from their last trip to the Edens. The sheer quantity and compactness of the suds nearly swallowed him when he eased himself in, laughing lightly at the face he knew Jack would make before unashamedly giving himself a bubble beard and demanding Rhys to do the same.

It was with thoughts of Jack and a towering wig of bubbles that Rhys popped the cork and poured out two glasses of champagne, enjoying a few sips himself before relaxing back against the edge as the enormous tub still filled around him.

Rhys heard the sound of something shattering, and sat up with concern. Sounded like their good salad bowl, but no shrieks or curses following it. “Everything okay?” he hollered, knowing his voice would carry to the kitchen. “...Jack?”

Rhys waited a few moments before calling out to the older man again and straining to hear. He knew Jack would be able to hear him, but the fact that he wasn’t answering was enough for Rhys to pull himself from the tub with concern and reach for a towel and then his bathrobe. “Jack? Everything okay?”

Rhys entered their living room, bathrobe wrapped about him, eyes trained on the open kitchen as he called out again. “Jack? You okay?”

“Don’t come in here, baby.” Jack was standing before the sink rinsing his hands and gave Rhys a sheepish smile as they laid eyes upon one another. Their salad bowl was on the floor in pieces, a mess of some kind of marinade and meat and glass at Jack’s feet. The man himself was also covered, his front stained in sauce as if he’d lost his grip on the bowl. “There’s glass on the floor. I dropped our skewers.”

“Skewers?” That sounded good actually. But the slow-roasted meat was hardly a priority at the moment. “You dropped it? Did you cut yourself?” the omega asked in concern.

“Nah. Go get back in the bath, kitten, and I’ll meet ya in a second.” 

“You’re gonna need a shower first,” Rhys judged, smiling when it made Jack chuckle. “Want me to help you clean it up?”

“Nah baby, I don’t want you to hurt your feet.” Jack wiped his now-clean hands on a dish towel and carefully stepped over to the omega. His shoes made a crunch even as he avoided the glass there. He looked at the mess he’d made with a frown. This wasn’t going the way he’d planned. “Dinner might be delayed, though…”

Rhys just smirked. “Jack, just clean it up and have a bath with me. We’ll order take out. Just get naked and get in there.” The alpha turned his warm gaze on Rhys, and the omega smirked at the blush stealing up the older man’s neck. He felt a little thrill of confidence at that and inclined his face towards the older man. He was rewarded with a kiss, though Jack kept his messy self away from the fluffy bathrobe.

“Give me ten minutes to clean this shit up and I’ll be all yours, sugar.”

Jack ended up being true to his word, and Rhys watched the older man peel off his sodden layers with a smile as he finally joined the younger man in the bathroom.

Rhys lazily watched Jack rinse himself off in the adjacent shower, smiling in appreciation of the older man’s body and the attractive flush running down his neck. And then he jolted up in the tub as Jack seemed to almost lose his balance a moment beneath the water, stumbling a bit where he stood.

“ _Hey_ ,” Rhys said as he was opening the glass door and immediately touching the older man. Jack’s big hands found themselves on Rhys’ shoulders, and he gave the younger man a sort of dazed look while Rhys held onto him tightly. “ _Are you okay?”_

“I’m fine. I’m…. I’m fine.”

“You looked like you were gonna pass out,” Rhys reported as he searched Jack’s face, arms still fully around him at the ready to catch the big alpha at any moment. Rhys frowned and lifted his flesh hand to Jack’s forehead. He was still flushed, but Rhys had chalked that up to arousal. Maybe not. “Are you okay? How do you feel? You’re running hot.”

“I’m always hot,” Jack muttered, but he allowed Rhys to remove them both from the shower and wrap a towel around his waist. “Just a little dizzy,” Jack easily wrote off. “It’s been a long day. Let’s get back in the tub, baby.”

“Did this happen in the kitchen too?” Rhys asked as he ignored Jack’s last sentence, slightly concerned at the lack of fight Jack was putting up as he wound a towel around the alpha and left the bath behind. Rhys was unworried about his own state of nakedness or the water dripping off of him and onto the carpet as he eased Jack toward their bedroom with growing concern. 

Jack made a begrudging sound of affirmation as he allowed Rhys to sit him on their bed and dry him with a second towel. He felt a little dazed. He answered Rhys’ various questions about if he’d missed meals today and how much he actually slept last night, but kept brushing things off to having had a stressful work day. 

“The flu _has_ been going around the station,” Rhys proposed with concern, brushing back a wet lock of brown behind Jack’s ear. “You do have a fever…”

“I don’t get sick.”

Rhys ignored that statement, remembering how much Jack had bitched the last time he’d caught a cold. The omega returned to their bathroom to check the medicine cabinet for syrup, but didn’t find so much as a single pain-killer. Then he remembered Jack had cleaned them out the last hangover they’d both suffered.

“We don’t have any medicine,” Rhys announced as he returned to Jack, only to towel himself off and pull on some sweatpants and one of Jack’s shirts.

“I’m fine, pumpkin.”

His voice didn’t sound fine to the omega, nor to his own ears, as Jack reclined in the pillows of their unmade bed with his eyes closed. Rhys pulled on his shoes and pressed a kiss to Jack’s hot forehead, giving the alpha a look of concern. Maybe it was lucky they’d missed their reservation, because his alpha did _not_ look good. “I’m gonna go pick up some medicine from the hub, Jack.” 

The older man whined a little in his throat and groped weakly for Rhys. This was not how a romantic-night in was supposed to go. “...you’re all the medicine I need, Rhysie.”

Rhys indulged Jack in wrapping his arms around the alpha, holding him tightly while something inside of him was grateful to still be _useful_. He pulled back to look at the older man. “I’ll be real quick, okay?” 

Jack groaned when he pulled away. “Rhysie…”

“Yeah?”

“...I’m sorry.”

“Hey, you’re not dying or anything, okay? You just need rest.” 

Jack grumbled some more as Rhys got to his feet, giving the bed and the man in it a last look before he was already readying elevators and clearing security-doors for shortcuts through Helios.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was having some issues with flow and then the fic got away from me, so I broke up the story into two chapters :) The last bit will be up within the week, just needs some adjustments as I am not at all confident or happy with the porny bits yet :)
> 
> [my tumblr](http://purge-that-urge-rhackathon.tumblr.com/) | [my fic masterlist archive](http://purge-that-urge-rhackathon.tumblr.com/post/134979026515/poisonjack-ao3-fic-archive) | [my twitter](https://twitter.com/PurgeThatUrge) | [my pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/PoisonJack)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ended up being a total re-write but i am so much more happy with this now AHAHAH. Unrealistic dialoguing perhaps but who cares, this is self-indulgent smut for smut's sake and entertainment value LOLOL

Rhys made it back to the penthouse in what he considered to be record-time with a rather large bag full of cold and cough medicine, things to alleviate the flu (which was difficult to get with the epidemic going around, though being Handsome Jack’s mate certainly had its perks), along with some generic painkillers and a bag of the alpha’s favorite pretzels. 

Setting the bag down quietly on the kitchen counter so as not to disturb Jack’s rest, he was instantly struck by the wet towel on the living room carpet that had not been there when he’d left. He could smell the clean scent of shower in the air, but no Jack immediately apparent. Maybe the alpha was feeling better and decided to watch some TV… for the whole twenty minutes Rhys was gone… But where was he now and why’d he leave the towel there?

Returning to their bedroom, Rhys found the bed to be empty, but heard the shower in the bathroom. Maybe Jack decided to watch TV before suddenly feeling sick and leaving the towel in his haste? He _really_ hoped Jack hadn’t gotten sick in the shower itself in an effort to stave off the fever...

The water in the shower was still running, bathtub full of slowly-melting bubbles, but no CEO to be found.

“Jack? Where are you?” His heart was beating hard, pulse hammering in his throat, and Rhys realized with sudden, confused shock that he’d become rather slick, his cock giving a twitch that startled him. This was _hardly_ the time, though the way his pulse was up in fearful concern for his mate, he wasn’t entirely surprised to get a fear boner. 

Getting slick was certainly new, though. 

He wondered if the older man had crawled into bed in one of the other rooms they rarely used. If he was so sick he didn’t want Rhys to see him, then Rhys _needed_ to find him. The quicker the better.

Jack’s scent suddenly hit him through the bubbles and the shower and the steam; Jack’s _pure_ alpha musk, strong like when he went into rut and just as intoxicating. And Rhys’ body was certainly reacting to it, answering the call Jack’s scent sent out.

But Jack shouldn’t _be_ in rut right now. It would of course account for his body temperature, which was a bit high, but his ruts never made him _weak._ Rut _plus_ flu, perhaps? Not a good combination.

Rhys went back into the living room, fearful concern mounting as he could smell his mate-- as if Jack was _right_ here with him whispering dirty things into his ear- but couldn’t see him anywhere. He called out again, unable to keep that worried pitch from his voice.

Was he hurt? Was he okay? _Was_ it a rut compounded by fever? And why was he hiding if so?

The hairs on the back of Rhys’ neck prickled as the automated air went on, and Rhys’ nostrils picked up further scent as he could feel eyes on him. “Jack? Hey…Where are you?”

It took a moment as he stood there stock-still, scenting the air and hearing nothing over the rush of blood in his ears. 

His eyes finally found Jack, watching him from behind the couch where the big alpha definitely had _not_ been when he’d entered the penthouse. Jack’s eyes were big and dilated where he just barely peeked over the back of the couch, and Rhys felt his heart speed up as his instincts jerked him in two very opposite directions.

“Jack...” Rhys said in relief. “You alright? What are you doing?”

“ _Rhysie_ …”

The deep register of the growl in his voice made the younger man’s stomach clench out of anticipation, more slick beginning to leak out of him in some sort of primal excitement at that tone. It made an involuntary whimper nearly escape his throat, and he could hear Jack inhale deeply where he sat, closing his eyes a moment as if to savor Rhys’ scent. It made the omega’s semi twitch in his pants.

Jack watched him with focus from where he was crouched, and Rhys felt hunted in a way that made his skin deliciously tingle beneath the alpha’s borrowed shirt; not threatened by the odd behavior exactly, and he wasn’t afraid, but this was an unknown. He wasn't sure what was happening with the alpha, and Jack was behaving far differently than he did during a usual rut. 

Rhys was certain that if he made any quick moves, Jack would be after him. And while that wasn’t necessarily a _bad_ thing-- according to Rhys’ cock at least- the omega needed to figure out what the hell was going on before just letting whatever this was run its course. Jack wasn’t well, that was for damn sure, and this couldn’t be a rut, no matter how strong the older man smelled. 

He couldn’t let himself get too caught up in the alpha’s scent before he did something about it, and snapped himself back to the reality of the bag of medicine on the counter behind the older man. He met Jack’s eyes again, the alpha not having moved a single muscle from where he was lurking behind the couch. “Are you okay? What are you even doing down there? C’mere.”

The older man didn’t move, just stayed there watching him, and Rhys wisely moved slowly as he kept his eyes on the alpha, thinking he should give Jack’s doctor a call. This wasn’t normal for a rut, but then maybe this was something else altogether.

That scent though… Rhys’ nostrils flared involuntarily, and he made a noise he didn’t mean to make. 

It was enough to trigger Jack into action.

The older man pounced from his hiding spot behind the couch, and Rhys fled like the mouse he felt like; startled, concern mixed with aroused excitement of being pursued, and the overbearing, instinctive need to hide overruling it all.

Jack’s bare feet slid on the rug as he tried to give chase, and Rhys fled into the hall that gave way to their bedroom and the many other rooms in the place. The older man was knocking shit over in his haste to get to the omega, the distinctive sound of a decorative cactus on a pedestal toppling over near the entryway, followed by the sound of the coat rack they never used but Jack enjoyed since the top was in the shape of a unicorn.

Rhys used those precious few moments out of sight and quickly fled into their bedroom as the alpha was still scrambling over the shit he’d knocked over. Rhys’ immediate idea was to hide in the closet, but then he thought that Jack would trap him there quite easily with no other way out. 

Under the bed then, on his belly. 

The bedroom smelled enough like the both of them that Jack might not find him immediately. And though it made a pleasurable shudder go through him as he wiggled himself _and_ the hardon he’d been sporting under the bed, Rhys kept his mouth shut and tried to think.

The older man’s heavy, uncoordinated footfalls came just as Rhys was ensconced under the bed. He heard the alpha chuffing to himself, trying to find him with a single-mindedness that was equally concerning and arousing, and Rhys watched his feet disappear into the closet just like he’d thought. 

The younger man was careful, listening as Jack called his name in such a low growl that it made his cock flex and his hole drip with more slick. It _had_ to be some weird kind of rut. Mega-rut, if the size of the erection Jack was sporting was anything to go by. But why now?

Not that Rhys wasn’t interested, but the alpha had nearly passed out twice this evening and _now_ he was full of some frenetic energy that made no sense under context.

Rhys successfully made it out of the bedroom, listening intently but no sound of the older man pursuing him. He hid in the rarely-used dining room behind a free-standing wall and a lounge chair in the open plan, squirming a little and trying valiantly to ignore his rather-insistent dick. He couldn't risk making the noise of a voice call for a doctor, so he searched on his echo-eye for ‘symptoms’ like Jack’s instead. 

The only immediate return he saw was an ad for Hyperion Engorge pills, wondering if Jack had stupidly tried to turn this whole night around and dosed himself while Rhys was out. He didn’t get too far in his pondering before he realized far too late that Jack’s scent was right on top of him, and he turned just in time to see the naked alpha lunge at him.

“Gotcha!” Jack growled from behind, pouncing on the younger man as Rhys made a noise that sounded way too pleased with his predicament to his own ears. 

Rhys squirmed just a bit in startlement though part of him was relieved to have Jack’s arms wrapped around him instead of still being pursued, and he pressed backwards into the embrace the naked alpha was giving him as his heart pounded excitedly in his chest. 

“Jack?” Rhys was more than a little breathless. He moved slowly, reaching a hand back behind them to palm the back of the older man’s neck. Jack purred at the treatment and turned his face towards Rhys’ arm to rub his cheek affectionately against the skin there; to kiss and nip at the omega’s flesh. It got a few noises out of the younger man as well as made his cock twitch. 

A part of Rhys was bordering on the edge of a painful arousal that his hindbrain refused to ignore-- even in the face of concern for his mate- _especially_ when Jack was obscenely scenting his neck and wrapping himself more tightly around the younger man. Rhys wanted him, but he also needed to know if this was some side effect of being ill, or something else entirely that he should maybe just roll with.

“Jack uh, what… _ah_...” Rhys gasped with pleasure at a bite the alpha gave him, his voice a little breathy with the way Jack tongued at the tooth indents he’d left. It made Rhys’ skin hot with want, and he couldn’t help the sort of smile on his face. “What’s going on with you?”

The older man didn’t have any answers for him, instead leaving nipping kisses across every bit of flesh he could reach as his hands dug up under Rhys’ shirt and down into the sweatpants he’d quickly thrown on. Rhys was never happier not to be wearing underwear as Jack’s hand delved deep-- past the omega’s small, throbbing cock he fondled, over his balls- until his fingers encountered slick. 

Rhys’ brain short-circuited in happiness at the feel of Jack’s fingers, and he whined and jerked his hips up awkwardly from where they were sitting, trying to make room in the hope that Jack would slip one of those large digits into him. He could feel the growl that left Jack reverberate through his own chest, and he couldn’t stop the moan that left him as the pad of one of Jack’s fingers pushed against his slick hole, but didn’t quite push in. 

It made Rhys look at the older man-- to beg, to demand, he wasn’t sure- but then the alpha’s large fingertip breached his hole and the omega was leaning back hard into Jack with a needy moan that was rewarded with a hard bite against his shoulder. The action made his cock jump in his sweats, right against Jack’s forearm, and the alpha removed his hand far too quickly for the omega’s liking. 

Rhys’ indignation was short-lived as Jack manhandled them until he was straddling and pinning Rhys on his back below him, rutting his cock a little against the younger man and sticking his face into Rhys’ neck, taking deep inhales. Jack’s tongue pressed hotly against Rhys’ throat, the omega’s pulse jumping under the treatment, and the younger man himself moaned and squirmed beneath Jack as his hips bucked upwards. When the older man pulled back to look at him, the expression there made Rhys gush a fresh wave of slick.

Jack’s irises were fully blown, teeth bared in threat assuming Rhys was trying to squirm away from him, and his musk was thick in the younger man’s nostrils. Rhys lifted his hips and bared his throat in obvious submission and invitation, trying to spread his legs and get friction where he wanted Jack most, but the older man kept him still. Both wrists were pinned in one hand above Rhys’ head, and though the he could’ve easily overpowered the hold with his cybernetic arm, he let Jack move him how he would, breath coming fast and heart nearly beating out of his chest with want.

“Jack… Jack _please_ …” Rhys begged, cock so hard it was borderline painful, and so slick they’d _never_ get the scent out of these sweatpants. His needy whines were answered by Jack’s own groans, and the big hand that groped at him only made the omega more delirious with want.

Rhys wished he could have said he’d fought against the treatment and put Jack’s well-being above his own growing need... But the excited keen that left him as Jack shoved his shirt up one-handed hardly did him any credit, and he luxuriated even in the roughness of the action.

Jack’s ruts always went right to Rhys’ head even though he knew it was a function of biology more than attraction, but whenever Jack worked him over, mindless with lust and the need to protect him, touch him, _breed_ him, Rhys reveled in the attention and the knowledge that the most powerful alpha out there found _him_ to be the perfect target of his lust. And it was just as hard to fight such a sensation.

That was neither here nor there though, and Rhys couldn’t _completely_ drown out the concern over the turn the evening had taken.

One bite from Jack to his left nipple quickly scrambled his mind, though.

“... _Jack_...” Rhys sighed in what he knew was the perfect tone of omega submission to ever leave his mouth, and the effect was instantaneous on the alpha on top of him.

Jack groaned and gently nipped at Rhys’ throat, voice gravelly as his tongue swiped up Rhys’ neck, cock dragging against Rhys’ body but not where he wanted it most. “ _Mine.”_

“ _Fuck,_ ” Rhys sighed out, his body arching upwards towards Jack of its own volition. If Jack kept rutting against him, he was going to come in his pants, he knew it. The older man’s scent was far too overwhelming; potent, different. But it was telling Rhys’ body one thing: _here_ was an alpha’s alpha. One that would breed him hard. Be a good protector. A good provider. Someone his body was more than eager to spread his legs for and take his knot like the perfect little omega he was. And Rhys was only too grateful to be on the receiving end of that.

Rhys bit Jack’s lip as the older man finally kissed his mouth, and the snarl Jack gave turned into a groan while he ground his cock further into the younger man’s own tented pants. His pupils were nearly black, nostrils flaring, and he couldn’t stop touching the omega beneath him, his free hand back to massaging at the hardon Rhys was sporting. 

“Take them off,” Rhys urged on a whimper, struggling beneath the older man as if he could wiggle out of his pants. Jack’s grip on him tightened, keeping him in place as if he thought he might try to run again. The idea made Rhys’ eyes roll up into the back of his head in pleasure as the older man firmly held him. Crawling _out_ from under him never even entered Rhys’ mind as Jack finally managed to pull Rhys’ pants halfway down with one-hand, small omega cock bobbing free, red and leaking heavily.

“ _Jaaaack,_ ” Rhys whined, his hole so, so slick and very excited to let the half-feral alpha fuck and knot him. His frustration over still having his pants on was getting to him, and his voice was half-growl. “Jack… get these off me and _fuck me_ already!”

 _That_ seemed to break through the haze of the CEO’s brain. Jack used his other hand to pull Rhys’ pants away while instead the omega was toeing off his shoes and grabbing at the alpha with both hands, surging up to grind his cock against Jack as the alpha was getting situated above him.

Pulling Jack by the back of the neck got a growl that resulted in a bite to Rhys’ shoulder that _almost_ made Rhys come right then and there. Rhys’ hips jerked up of their own accord as his legs were finally free of his pants _and_ the prison of Jack’s own thighs keeping them woefully together. 

Jack’s hand went between Rhys’ legs immediately, feeling for the warmth and wetness of his entrance as he worked two fingers right in without notice or care, nostrils flaring.

It made Rhys _howl_ , the movements of the older man more rough than usual but in ways that were so so good he was rather glad Jack’s brain seemed out of sorts. The omega willingly spread his legs and grabbed at the older man, Jack’s cock in one hand as Rhys guided it into his hole to finally, _finally_ get some relief. 

The younger man was all taut and pleased as the alpha rammed himself right in without much resistance at all, and the shock and pleasure of it all sent a jolt through him that warned of his impending orgasm even as Jack was already pulling back to ram on home again.

Had he _ever_ been this slick before? No amount of foreplay and to be this slippery? The feel of Jack’s cock pounding into him was decadent, taking up his hands again and pinning him as the older man wrecked his throat with sucking, nipping bites as he was driving Rhys to what he knew would only be the first of many orgasms.

“I-I’m gonna- _Aah Jack_!” Rhys was spurting between them over his belly and part of his rucked-up shirt, and the older man slowed a moment, his thrusts the simple roll of his hips so he could distractedly run his fingers through the come on the younger man’s chest. Watching Jack take a finger full-- nostrils flaring before licking the digit clean- kept Rhys’ cock from even softening, and the older man took his pounding right back up with hands and growls both.

Jack came around the fourth orgasm the younger man had had, Rhys’ cock dry at this point and his hearing nothing but the white noise of intense pleasure as Jack’s knot finally, _finally_ began to stretch his hole.

They both passed out a while after that right on the dining room floor. Rhys woke as Jack was gently pulling out of him, the alpha moving to lick at bleeding bites he’d given his mate, and pressing kisses and gentle touches to his skin. Jack kept coming back to the younger man’s belly, watching the omega with a sly edge to his gaze as Rhys allowed the treatment; exhausted, but satisfied.

Jack still didn't look all right; not completely back to normal, but the madness to breed seemed to have calmed down somewhat. 

Rhys limply wrapped arms around the alpha’s back, thumb stroking at the nape of Jack’s neck as the older man continued to press kisses about his belly. He wondered just how coherent the alpha was. “Jack… You with me?”

His answer took form in Jack nuzzling his skin with the press of cheek and nose, followed by the first actual sentences the older man had said in hours. “Mmm… all mine, baby… You're gonna get so big with my pups, Rhysie… All mine… No one else’s, got it?”

“Absolutely,” Rhys purred at the pillow talk, tugging to place a kiss on Jack’s chin and wondering what the hell to do. Jack seemed _okay_ , at least. Rhys wondered if he _had_ taken any Engorge pills, but the cuddling and sweet words still made him think it was some kind of weird rut.

A few hours and several more dry-orgasms into the night-- as Rhys complained about rug burn and Jack seemed coherent and satisfied enough to know he needed some antiseptic- the pair had finally fallen into bed, dead-tired, and Jack wrapped so tightly around Rhys that the omega worried he’d crush him with his bigger body in the night.

But no, Jack merely cuddled him, keeping him safe and close. A large palm was on Rhys’ belly, but the older man was _out_ , leaving Rhys to wonder if this was going to be a repeat tomorrow, or if whatever this was was over. It was nice to be the subject of a random breeding rut, even if he knew nothing would come of it. Jack’s fever was more or less gone as far as Rhys could tell, and though he wanted to get to the bottom of things, all that fucking had really taken it out of him, and he fell asleep in Jack’s arms.

\--

Rhys woke the following afternoon to the smell of bacon wafting into the bedroom. 

He was tired enough that only the insistent growling of his stomach kept him from falling back asleep, and the slight twinge in his ass and soreness everywhere that Jack had bit him made him prioritize a shower over searching out breakfast. 

Back and clean in the fluffy bathrobe he’d abandoned the night before, Rhys followed the smells to find Jack in the kitchen with what could only be described as a breakfast fit for a king. There were pancakes, a pile of toast with several different choices of jam and butter, sausages, bacon, some kind of fluffy omelette, slices of fruit that grew on Pandora, and Jack was currently working on some kind of hash when he turned with surprise to see Rhys.

“Uh… hey, pumpkin,” Jack greeted a little sheepishly as Rhys moved to press himself against the older man’s bare back, pressing his cheek against Jack’s shoulder as the older man cooked in his pajama pants. “How um… How’d ya sleep?”

“Good,” Rhys murmured, inhaling the older man’s scent. Jack’s scent smelled normal, and he must’ve showered this morning as well. Whatever last night was-- chemically induced rut, Engorge pills, _whatever_ \- it seemed to be over.

Rhys pressed a kiss to Jack’s neck before he turned on the spread the older man had laid out, quickly grabbing a piece of bacon to stop the grinding his stomach had started up, and made himself a plate. He sat down gingerly at the counter there, watching Jack work as the older man shot looks over his shoulder. Rhys wondered how much he remembered from last night.

“You want waffles, sweetheart?”

The look Jack was giving him told Rhys he wanted to ask something else, but the younger man gave an appreciative look at the feast currently before him, then looked back to Jack. “We already have pancakes.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

“Jack--”

“Did I hurt you last night, Rhys?”

The look of anxiety on the alpha’s face was so out of place that Rhys might’ve laughed under any other circumstance. But the concern there was real, and the white-knuckled grip Jack had on the spatula-- and the sheer amount of stress-cooking Jack was doing- did not go unnoticed by the omega. 

“No,” Rhys started, his ass clenching in defiance of that statement, but he was just a little sore, and far less than when he was coming off a heat himself. The sheer quantity of orgasms was going to have him relaxed for the entire week. Overall, it was some of the best sex they’d had in a while, in his opinion. “No, I’m okay. What uh… What _was_ last night?”

The look of guilt that passed over his face did the alpha no favors, and Rhys chewed a sausage link thoughtfully as the silence stretched on between them. A bit of heat entered his cheeks as he remembered the way Jack had lavished kisses to his belly, his utterances about putting pups into him, and falling asleep with Jack’s big hand encompassing his stomach possessively. Part of him embarrassingly hoped Jack forgot that bit in particular, what with their fertility issues.

It had been hot at the time, _perfect_ , but the knowledge that no pups would be forthcoming sort of soured the memory in Rhys’ mind, and he didn’t want to dwell on it. No matter how much he loved him or acted like it didn’t matter, it was clear from last night alone that Jack wanted kids. 

And Rhys wanted them just as much-- maybe more. Most omegas he knew desired at _least_ one kid if they got their way, and he was certainly no different. It was as much of a letdown to himself as it must be for Jack. 

He swallowed, feeling better to finally have some food back in his stomach, and gave Jack a sort of resigned but accepting look. “You took Engorge pills last night, didn’t you? To make up for the dinner reservation?”

“Huh?”

“A bigger dose than you should’ve?” Rhys suggested, choosing to butter a piece of toast as he tried to drive the idea of his deficiency from his mind. “...Did you make any coffee?” 

Jack put the spatula down and fetched the pot and a mug-- making it the way the omega liked it- uncharacteristically silent the whole time. Rhys stopped him when he moved to return the pot, fingers closing on the alpha’s wrist and giving him a beseeching look. The alpha set the pot down on the counter as Rhys gave him a gentle squeeze. “ _Jack_.”

“Yeah?”

Rhys gave him another insistent tug, until the older man was standing in front of him, and held his hand in his own. “I really thought you were sick. You’re not in rut, right?” Both of them knew he clearly wasn’t. Rhys stroked the back of Jack’s hand with his thumb. “Last night was fun, but I was worried about you. I didn’t know what to do… other than let you have your way with me,” he joked with a quirk of his lips.

Jack had trouble meeting his eyes, a forceful exhale through his nose as he looked about helplessly. This was far too much all at once and hate it as he might, Rhys deserved some answers. “Rhysie… sugar… I don’t really remember all of last night…”

Rhys smirked a bit wistfully. “I’m not surprised.”

“...what did I do?” The ‘to you’ was unspoken, but the worry and guilt were in his eyes, and Rhys rolled his own as he gave Jack’s hand another reassuring squeeze that the older man returned.

“Gave me ‘the dicking of a lifetime’, just like you promised,” Rhys joked a little to show how _not_ mad, and most assuredly _not_ hurt, he was, and rubbed his flesh hand up Jack’s forearm reassuringly. 

It didn’t work.

“Fuck.”

“Hey.” Rhys gave him another tug to pull him until he stood between his legs on the barstool. The omega hooked his ankles behind Jack’s calves, looking up at him with concern. “Aside from some seriously-good sex, I’m totally fine, okay? But what did you do? I know that wasn’t all _you_ , Jack. And your rut is still a long time away,” he spoke to his own heat, their cycles in sync since trying to start a family proper. He brushed away the guilty feeling that thought brought. “Your fever was so high. Do you remember being dizzy? You almost passed out in the shower.”

Jack frowned to himself. “I remember missing dinner. And-- fuck, our whole night in. I’m sorry, princess.” Jack chose to look him in the eyes, his own filled with a rare self-disappointment. Rhys’ expression was far too forgiving. “Shit, Rhysie, I’ll make it up to you, alright?”

“It’s not important, Jack,” Rhys promised, touching him as if he could soothe the alpha’s anxieties away. “I’m just glad everything’s fine. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

“It’s my fault we can’t have kids,” Jack blurted.

It was like the levity he’d felt had been sucked violently out an airlock. Rhys felt as if he’d been punched in the gut, whiplash as the words resonated in his ears. His mouth dropped open of its own accord, a stricken expression on his face, and he felt Jack’s own hands on his forearms through the fluffy robe. The alpha’s thumbs stroked the material slowly; uncertain.

“...Pumpkin?”

Rhys was gaping mutely a moment, several false starts before he was able to speak. “I--” 

Rhys began blinking quickly, eyes becoming moist as his gut dropped and he realized he couldn’t hide just how upset the subject actually made him. Not at Jack, and maybe not even entirely at himself, but like the idea was already so far out of his reach that even mentioning it made something inside him hurt. His pulse raced and his gaze was stuck somewhere in the middle of Jack’s chest. 

“I-- Uh--” He gaped at Jack helplessly, and the older man was already pulling his arms around him and cradling the back of his head in his big, warm hand.

“I’m sorry, kitten,” Jack spoke into his clean, fluffy hair, hugging the omega tightly and pressing his lips to the soft strands. “It’s not you. Of course it’s not you. You’re perfect, Rhysie.”

“Jack I don’t-”

“I was trying to fix my face.” Rhys pulled back to blink wetly up at him in clear misunderstanding, and Jack almost laughed when he thought Rhys took it to mean Jack was ugly. “ _Under_ this face.” At the further look of confusion, Jack pet at the younger man, forcing the words from his mouth. “I took some things from R&D to fix my scar… I’m uh… Heh... I’m pretty sure that alien shit is why I can’t give you kids... The pills from R&D were supposed to heal the damage maybe… Fuck, Rhysie, I’m sorry.”

This had to be the most Rhys had ever heard Jack apologize in his life, but he didn’t get stuck on that detail as he blinked tears from his eyes. “That’s what made you-- _like_ that last night?”

“Well, no,” Jack admitted guiltily. “I ah… Missed some doses, and it takes a week- Or that's what the science dweeb told me anyways. I wanted to surprise you.” Jack laughed humorlessly. “Checked my face this morning. Still butt-ugly.”

Rhys liked both of Jack’s faces to be perfectly honest; scarred and synthetic. But that hardly explained everything. “And that triggered a-- a rut?”

“Something like that,” Jack muttered, having already checked his comm for side effects when he woke up with a chafed dick, saw the bites all over the younger man, and realized he had memory loss from the night before. The assurances that he hadn’t hurt Rhys didn’t necessarily make him feel better about it. “I figured if that shit could fix this-” he indicated his face, “and all the alien damage or whatever, then maybe I could finally knock you up.”

Jack’s voice did not match the expression on his face, and Rhys was still reeling so hard from the situation that all he could do was wrap his arms around Jack and bury his face into the alpha’s chest for comfort. Jack thought it was _him_? That was hard to accept, especially after he’d internalized it so hard and for so long. 

The alpha nuzzled the top of his head, inhaling Rhys’ clean omega scent while his heart thundered in his chest. “...I’m so sorry, baby.”

There was a lot of things Rhys wanted to say to Jack. Questions, statements, declarations, fears… He took it all together and held onto the older man tightly. “Jack I- I don’t-- I just don’t want to lose you,” Rhys quickly got out, holding onto him tightly as the alpha made a soft sound of surprise. “I know you want heirs for Hyperion and I just-”

“Rhysie, sugarplum, _buttercup_ ,” Jack purred, pressing kisses about the younger man’s head and face. “Even if this was on your end, you’re _never_ gonna lose me. Shit, pumpkin,” Jack muttered, “I know how some of these idiots look at you. I know how damn lucky I am.”

Rhys chuckled a bit wetly at what was a lighthearted attempt to reassure the younger man. “But Jack how can you be sure it’s on _your--”_

“Seriously, baby.” Jack took up both of Rhys’ hands in his, pressing kisses to flesh and cybernetic knuckles both. “I love you, okay? I’m… if you want to find another way to have kids, sweetheart, I’d be for it. It’s not-- You really don’t have anything to worry about here, buttercup. I’m a… I don’t like admitting it, but I’m a defective alpha.”

“Jack--”

“Fuck that leaves a gross taste in my mouth.”

Rhys drew Jack’s face to his own, eyes wet again with unshed tears as he brought his mouth to Jack’s own. He kissed him for several moments, as if he could communicate how much Jack meant to him without words proper. “You’re not defective,” Rhys spoke softly against the older man’s lips, and Jack pressed them together to feel Rhys’ tongue lazily lick at Jack’s own. 

“Baby….”

“I love you. I love this face and I also love the one underneath. It doesn’t change a damn thing. I just wish I could give you heirs, Jack.”

“Listen buttercup,” Jack told him as he brought him close, arms wrapped about the fluffy robe the omega was wearing, and voice a warm whisper in his ear. “I’m not going to be the thing stopping us from having kids. We’ll-- shit baby, we’ve got options and I’ll do whatever you want, okay? Even if… I mean I’ll be daddy even if I can’t _father_ any for you, but--”

“Yours or nothing,” Rhys interrupted hotly, looking Jack in the eye as he pulled back some. The omega’s heart was beating hard in his chest with Jack’s unexpected flexibility, and while he might’ve been uncertain of his place before, knowing that Jack loved him regardless of his breeding potential… Well, it made Rhys feel a whole lot more confident about what he wanted out of this life. “As long as I have you, the rest is just details, Jack.”

That got a snort and a genuine smile from the older man as he gave the omega a fond squeeze. “I’m pretty sure that’s a line from that movie we watched the other night, sugar.”

Rhys’ cheeks grew a little pink even as he pouted. “I don’t think so.”

Jack’s smile grew as some twisted thing inside of him finally relaxed, tension he’d been carrying finally going slack. He leaned towards Rhys until their foreheads touched, and Rhys’ hands twitched where he held onto the older man’s frame. “I’m pretty positive.”

“You’re mistaken.” Rhys didn’t know when the smile had broken over his own face, but he pressed a kiss to Jack’s chin as the older man was brightly grinning at him, teasing, but the relief between the pair was palpable. Rhys could feel a new tightness in his chest from it-- secure in his place at Jack’s side and the knowledge that they were both entirely on the same page- and he was barely holding back the relieved, happy tears at this point. 

Luckily, some small, insignificant part of the universe must’ve been looking out for him, and offered a break in the seriousness of the moment. “The hash is burning,” Rhys stated with a smirk as Jack’s attention immediately turned toward the stove on the other side of the kitchen bar. Jack stood up straighter as Rhys was already letting him go to take care of it.

Jack cursed and Rhys gave him a little push so he knew it was okay to leave him there. The alpha muttered and said he’d make it over, and Rhys only chuckled, wiped his face, and helped himself to his coffee, not too interested in more breakfast items himself, but knowing his alpha needed to work that nervous energy completely off. 

They ate their fill and put the leftovers away together, and Rhys let Jack fuss over the bites he’d given him the night prior, and allowed the alpha to love on him until he was more or less one with their mattress. 

They spent the following week prioritizing each other, growing closer together with reassurance that just having the other was enough for either of them, and a full month later they were able to fondly joke about that night, and got back on with their usual schedule of corporate murders and movie nights.

About a month after that when Rhys’ heat was so long overdue it was missed, Jack grew worried that those experimental pills might’ve done something to the omega through their shared contact. And after locking down R&D with the promise they’d be touring Helios’ outer atmosphere if any ‘undue side effects’ caused harm to his mate, Rhys and Jack waited while the younger man shot him dirty looks and plenty of reminders about _not_ putting anything from R&D into his body without consulting the omega first.

Rhys would let this one go though-- with the concession that even a _broken_ clock was right twice in a day- as the test results were anything but frightening.

Picking out possible names wasn’t something Rhys had seriously thought he’d ever get to do, but as they lay together in bed that night-- one of Jack’s arms around him and the other hand over Rhys’ own on the omega’s belly- the reality that they’d have a pup of their own had finally begun to sink in.

Jack was allowed to go back on the experimental pills with proper observation and weekly checkups, Rhys grew until he looked like he’d swallowed a beach ball, and two years later they were welcoming their _third_ child into their midst.

Jack held a kid in each arm as he stated they were on a roll and better not stop, and Rhys had laughed, hand over his swollen belly, and joked that he was going to go back on his birth control at this rate. 

It was a challenge, Jack promised, that he was more than willing to rise up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I finished a new story let's all be shocked together LOLOL
> 
> Follow me on tumblr :)


End file.
